Operator-assisted device-to-device (d2d) discovery

ABSTRACT

A first user equipment (UE) operable to perform wireless wide area network (WWAN) operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communications with a second UE is disclosed. The first UE can process D2D discovery and wireless local area network (WLAN) configuration information received from a WWAN when the first UE and the second UE are within a WLAN direct communications range. The first UE can initiate operator-assisted WLAN direct communications with the second UE within the WLAN direct communications range using the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information received from the WWAN.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/944,668 filed Apr. 3, 2018, with an attorney docket numberof P42675US.C2 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/413,320, filed Jan. 23, 2017, with an attorney docket number ofP42675USC, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/997,736, filed Apr. 21, 2014, with an attorney docket number ofP42675US, which is a national stage application of International PatentApplication No. PCT/US2012/032987 filed on Apr. 11, 2012, with anattorney docket number of P42675PCT, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards andprotocols to transmit data between a transmission station and a wirelessdevice (e.g., mobile device). Some wireless communication technologiesuse orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) combined with adesired digital modulation scheme via a physical layer. Standards andprotocols that use OFDM include the third generation partnership project(3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard (e.g., 802.16e, 802.16m),which is commonly known to industry groups as WiMAX (Worldwideinteroperability for Microwave Access), and the IEEE 802.11 standard,which is commonly known to industry groups as WiFi.

In 3GPP radio access network (RAN) LTE systems, the transmission stationcan be a combination of Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio AccessNetwork (E-UTRAN) Node Bs (also commonly denoted as evolved Node Bs,enhanced Node Bs, eNodeBs, or eNBs) and Radio Network Controllers(RNCs), which communicates with the wireless mobile device, known as auser equipment (UE). In IEEE 802.16 WiMAX RANs, the transmission stationcan be referred to as a base station (BS). In IEEE 802.11 WiFi RANs, thetransmission station can be referred to as a WiFi wireless access point(WAP).

Wireless mobile communication technology can also includedevice-to-device (D2D) communication where two mobile devices cancommunicate directly with each other without a transmission station. Themobile devices may include a radio to communicate with the transmissionstation and a radio to communicate directly with another mobile device.If the radios' bands are far enough apart, the mobile devices may beactive simultaneously (i.e., the wireless device may communicate withthe base station and another wireless device simultaneously). If thebands are not far enough apart to avoid significant interference, theradios may be active at different time intervals. Wireless devices witha single radio may also communicate with the transmission station andthe other mobile device at different time intervals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from thedetailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example,features of the disclosure; and, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a requesting wireless device, aserving wireless device, and a transmission station in accordance withan example;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example process for operator-assisteddevice-to-device discovery using a data service advertisement inaccordance with an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process for operator-assisteddevice-to-device discovery using a request for data service inaccordance with an example;

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart for operator-assisted device-to-devicediscovery at a transmission station in accordance with an example;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart for operator-assisted device-to-devicediscovery at a wireless device in accordance with an example;

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of a transmission station, a requestingwireless device, a serving wireless device in accordance with anexample; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a mobile device in accordance with anexample.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, andspecific language will be used herein to describe the same. It willnevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that this invention is not limited to the particularstructures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but isextended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by thoseordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understoodthat terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describingparticular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. The samereference numerals in different drawings represent the same element.Numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarityin illustrating steps and operations and do not necessarily indicate aparticular order or sequence.

Definitions

As used herein, the term “mobile device,” “wireless device,” or“wireless mobile device,” refers to a computing device capable ofwireless digital communication such as a smart phone, a tablet computingdevice, a laptop computer, a multimedia device such as an iPod Touch®,or other type computing device that provides text or voicecommunication.

Example Embodiments

An initial overview of technology embodiments is provided below and thenspecific technology embodiments are described in further detail later.This initial summary is intended to aid readers in understanding thetechnology more quickly but is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the technology nor is it intended to limit thescope of the claimed subject matter.

Device-to-device (D2D) communication can be used after wireless devices(e.g., mobile devices) first “discover” each other. A D2D discoveryprocess can be highly resource consuming on the ad-hoc, D2D networks,including licensed and unlicensed networks. A licensed network includesuse of part of a radio spectrum sold to, licensed to, or used byoperators of a private or government radio transmission system. The D2Ddiscovery process can include the mobile devices randomly sendingrequests for potential peers in hopes that other mobile devices arelistening during that same period. The periodic polling of a D2Ddiscovery process in attempts to find other devices that are listeningcan accelerate the drain of the battery of the mobile device and causesignificant interference on the radio band.

A multi-radio mobile device contains multiple radio access technologies(e.g., LTE and WiFi). An operator network using transmission stationscan include a wide area network (WAN), such as licensed band cellularnetwork using a LTE or IEEE 802.16 standard, or a local area network(LAN) such as unlicensed band IEEE 802.11 (i.e., WiFi). An ad-hoc, D2Dnetwork may reside on the same band as the operator network or thead-hoc, D2D network can include an out-of-band (OOB) network (e.g., anunlicensed or licensed band different from the operator network bands).The chances of two single-radio wireless devices listening (i.e.receiving) and transmitting at the same time may be low depending on thewireless devices' sleep/idle patterns, traffic loads, and other factors.The chances of two time-division duplex (TDD) (i.e., time shared)multi-radio wireless devices listening and transmitting at the same timemay be even lower since the radios (e.g. LTE and WiFi) of the wirelessdevices alternate active time. Thus, the D2D discovery process may beeven longer on a TDD multi-radio device than on a single radio device,and resources consumed (including bandwidth and power) may increase.

The D2D discovery can be more efficient and consume less power by usingthe operator network to assist the ad-hoc, D2D network in the D2Ddiscovery process. Using operator-network-assisted D2D discovery canimprove performance for multi-radio devices, running (e.g.,transmitting) simultaneously or in TDD mode. Theoperator-network-assisted D2D discovery used herein can be referred toas operator-assisted D2D discovery.

FIG. 1 illustrates wireless devices (e.g., mobile devices 220 and 230)configured to communicate 214 and 212 with a transmission station 210via the operator network, where the wireless devices are also configuredto communicate 222 with each other via the ad-hoc, D2D network. Thedevice discovery process can include a device discovery messagetransmitted using the operator network, where the device discoverymessage instructs at least a pair of the wireless devices of the devicediscovery period allowing the two wireless devices to discover eachother and communicate with each other via the ad-hoc, D2D network. Thedevice discovery process assisted by the operator network can improvethe speed and power efficiency of the D2D device discovery.

The following provides additional details of the examples. FIG. 2illustrates an example process for operator-assisted device-to-devicediscovery. At least two wireless devices can be in communication with anoperator network. A requesting wireless device can be a wireless device(e.g., mobile device) requesting a data service and/or a specificsubscriber (or subscribers) at a specified interval of time. The dataservice as used herein can include data content and/or services. Contentcan include a multimedia stream, a video stream, an audio stream, agraphics file, an audio file, a text file, an executable file, amultimedia file, or another type of data file. Services can includegaming, social networking, and other interactive services. A servingwireless device can be a wireless device configured to provide dataservices for the requesting wireless device at the specified interval oftime. A wireless device can request a data service during one intervalof time (e.g., be the requesting wireless device), and provide the dataservice at another interval of time (e.g., be the serving wirelessdevice). The requesting wireless device and the serving wireless devicecan have prior authentication from the operator network 300 a-b.

When a user of the requesting wireless device desires data servicesand/or specific subscribers, the requesting wireless device can send arequest for data services and/or the specific subscriber(s) 302 to aserving transmission station. The request for data services can includethe request for data services and/or a request for the specificsubscriber. A unicast message can be used to send the request for dataservices. A unicast message is a message sent by one wireless device toone wireless device. The request can include an identification of thedata service requested. The request can also include client specificinformation such as power, loading, location, and other similarinformation about the requesting wireless device.

Upon receipt of the request for data services, the operator network candetermine whether the data service can be provided via D2D connectivity304 or whether the data service is only available via the transmissionstation. If the operator network determines that the data service may bedelivered via D2D connectivity, the operator network may check severalpieces of information. If the operator network has access to a datarepository (e.g., a database or a cloud application) of availablesubscriber services, the operator network may check the data repositoryto determine whether the requested subscriber(s) or, if specificsubscribers were not requested, whether subscribers in the service areahave indicated possession of the relevant data service as well as awillingness (e.g., permissions) to share the relevant data with peers(e.g., a requesting wireless device). The operator network may identifyone or more potential serving wireless devices (e.g., server device) toprovide the data service 306.

If the operator network has access to specific location information ofthe subscribers in the operator network, a processor in the operatornetwork may check the location of the requesting wireless device againstpotential serving wireless devices in the service area. The service areamay be a cell for a transmission station or node. The service area mayinclude a macro cell associated with a macro evolved Node B (macro-eNB),a cell associated with a low power node (LPN), a micro cell associatedwith a micro-eNB, a pico cell associated with a pico-eNB, a femto cellassociated with a femto-eNB, a home cell associated with a home eNB(HeNB), or a WiFi access point (WAP).

Depending on the information available to the operator network, theoperator network may narrow down the pool of potential peers to thesubscribers that were requested, have the requested data service, arewilling to share the requested data service, and/or are in the vicinityor proximity of the requesting wireless device. If the operator networkcan narrow the pool of potential peers to a list of potential servingwireless devices, the transmission station can send a multi-cast devicediscovery message to the potential serving wireless devices. Otherwise,the transmission station can send a broadcast device discovery message308 b to the pool of potential peers in the service area. The multi-castmessage and broadcast message can be a message from one wireless deviceto multiple wireless devices. In another example, the transmissionstation can send unicast device discovery messages to the potentialserving wireless devices. The transmission station can also send thedevice discovery message 308 a to the requesting wireless device. Thedevice discovery message can include a proposed device discovery period310 for the D2D, ad-hoc network. In another example, the devicediscovery message can include the data service being requested and/orthe location of the requesting wireless device.

Upon receipt of the device discovery message, the potential servingwireless devices may check their current conditions (e.g., power,traffic load, and other conditions) to determine whether the wirelessdevices can engage in D2D data service sharing. If the device discoverymessage includes the requested data service, the potential servingwireless devices may also check whether the wireless devices have therequested data service available and permission to share the requesteddata service.

If location information is included in the device discovery message, thepotential serving wireless devices may also check their location todetermine if at least one potential serving wireless device is in thevicinity of the requesting wireless device. In an example, a wirelessdevice can have a location mechanism, such as a global positioningsystem (GPS) receiver, to determine a current location of the wirelessdevice. Other location mechanism can also be used.

If a potential serving wireless device has the requested data service,the wireless device is willing to share the requested data service,and/or the wireless device is in the vicinity or proximity of therequesting wireless device; the potential serving wireless device maybroadcast a data service advertisement 312 on a D2D link to therequesting wireless device during the device discovery period 310.During the proposed device discovery period, the requesting wirelessdevice may listen on the D2D link for the data service advertisementfrom the potential serving wireless device. The advertisement mayinclude information about the data service available from the potentialserving wireless device. After successfully receiving the data serviceadvertisement, the requesting wireless device may transmit anacknowledgement 316 on the D2D link indicating the requesting wirelessdevice's willingness to “pair” with the potential serving wirelessdevice. If the data service advertisement and the acknowledgement (ACK)are successfully received, the D2D communication 320 can then be setupbetween the requesting wireless device and the serving wireless deviceusing the D2D link.

In another embodiment, the transmission station may send a first devicediscovery message including a first device discovery period to just therequesting wireless device and a potential serving wireless device in afirst pair of wireless devices. The transmission station may send asecond device discovery message including a second device discoveryperiod to a second requesting wireless device and a second potentialserving wireless device in a second pair of wireless devices, wheresecond device discovery period occurs at a different time interval fromthe first device discovery period, and so forth.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example process for operator-assisteddevice-to-device discovery. The requesting wireless device may broadcasta request advertisement 314 on D2D link to the potential servingwireless devices during the device discovery period 310. During theproposed device discovery period, the potential serving wireless devicesin the service area may listen on the D2D link for the requestadvertisement. After successfully receiving the request advertisementand if the potential serving wireless device has permission andresources (which can include sufficiently good channel quality to therequesting wireless device to support the desired quality of service[QoS]) to provide the requested data service, the potential servingwireless device may transmit an acknowledgement 318 indicating thepotential serving wireless device's willingness to “pair” with therequesting wireless device. If the request advertisement and theacknowledgement are successfully received, the D2D communication 320 canthen be setup between the requesting wireless device and the servingwireless device using the D2D link.

In another example, the requesting wireless device may broadcast arequest advertisement and the potential serving wireless devices in theservice area may broadcast data service advertisements during the devicediscovery period. During the proposed device discovery period, therequesting wireless device may listen for the data serviceadvertisements and the potential serving wireless devices in the servicearea may listen for the request advertisement. Contention basedmechanisms may be used to resolve situations where the data serviceadvertisements are transmitted at a substantially same time as therequest advertisement. The wireless devices may transmitacknowledgements indicating a willingness to “pair”. If one requestadvertisement and one acknowledgement are successfully received or onedata service advertisement and one acknowledgement are successfullyreceived, the D2D communication can then be setup between the requestingwireless device and the serving wireless device using the D2D link.

The requesting wireless device and the serving wireless device may stoplistening or transmitting advertisements after the device discoveryperiod has ended to conserve power. In an example, the device discoveryperiod can be ten milliseconds (i.e., 10 msec) to five seconds (i.e., 5sec). The device discovery period may be long enough for the servingwireless device to transition from a sleep mode or idle mode to anactive or connected mode, so the serving wireless device can receive therequest advertisement or transmit the data service advertisement in thediscovery period. In another example, the time duration between thetransmission of the device discovery message and the start of the devicediscovery period may be long enough for the serving wireless device totransition from a sleep mode or idle mode to an active or connected modeand still receive the request advertisement or transmit the data serviceadvertisement in the discovery period. In an embodiment, when therequesting wireless device and the serving wireless device successfullypair (e.g., communicate via the D2D link) within the device discoveryperiod, the requesting wireless device or the serving wireless devicemay send a message to the transmission station indicating the successfulpairing. In another embodiment, when the requesting wireless device andthe serving wireless device fail to pair (e.g., do not communicate viathe D2D link) within the device discovery period, the requestingwireless device or the serving wireless device may send a message to thetransmission station indicating a failed D2D connection. Thetransmission station may send another device discovery message includinga later device discovery period to the requesting wireless device andthe serving wireless device, which failed to successfully communicateand pair up via the D2D link. In another example, the transmissionstation may send another device discovery message including a laterdevice discovery period to the requesting wireless device and thepotential serving wireless devices in the service area. In anotherexample, the transmission station may send a “no serving wireless deviceavailable” message to the requesting wireless device indicating that nopotential serving wireless device is available. The “no serving deviceavailable” message may occur if no potential serving wireless device iswithin D2D transmission range, or if no serving wireless device haspermission to share the data service with the requesting wirelessdevice. The transmission station may continue to provide the datacontent or service via the operator network connection when no servingwireless device is available via the D2D link.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the operator network used to propose arelatively short common device discovery period to speed up the processand improve “peer pairing” success rates. “Over the air signaling”including the transmission and reception of the request for dataservices and/or subscriber(s) message and the device discovery messagemay be included in the protocol or standard used by the operatornetwork. In reducing the device discovery to a narrow device discoveryperiod using the operator network connection, instead of listeningand/or transmitting in a longer discovery time duration on the D2D,ad-hoc network alone; the power and resources of the wireless devicescan be conserved and the bandwidth consumption of the D2D link can bereduced due to fewer transmissions during the device discovery process.Per bit transmitted, the operator network connection can be moreefficient than an ad-hoc, D2D connection. For example, in someapplications, WiFi can consume 10 to 100 times more power than using aWAN protocol per bit transmitted. So using a WiFi D2D link withoutassistance from an operator's WAN for device discovery may acceleratethe drain of the battery of the wireless device.

Using the device discovery message via the operator network (e.g.,operator-assisted D2D discovery) can provide additional benefits overusing protocols such as WiFi Direct or Bluetooth. In WiFi Direct orBluetooth, at least one of the users of the wireless devices owns theD2D connection between the requesting wireless device and the servingwireless device, where security authentication is performed by one ofthe wireless devices. Establishing security and physically or manuallysetting up the wireless devices so the devices can find each other canbe cumbersome. Security authentication attempts to address thetrustworthiness of a user and protect users from each other. In WiFiDirect, the users of the wireless devices may be known to each other andsecurity keys and other identifying information can be exchanged whenusers are in the vicinity of each other. Setting up a D2D connectionusing WiFi Direct or Bluetooth can be cumbersome and may use a humanbeing as the authenticator in a manual process.

In operator-assisted D2D discovery, the wireless device may already beauthenticated via the operator network connection, so no additionalauthentication may be needed. In addition, operator-assisted D2Ddiscovery can provide automatic authentication without manual humanaction.

The operator network can provide the benefits of determining thevicinity or proximity of the requested data services and/orsubscriber(s) relative to a requesting wireless device, without using arandom search process on the ad-hoc, D2D network to find the requesteddata services and/or subscriber(s). The operator network can storeinformation in a data repository about the data services available fromspecific subscribers. The operator network can also store information ina data repository about which subscribers have permission to accessspecific data services from specific subscribers. The operator networkcan also store information in a data repository about the location ofsubscribers. The operator network can use the device discovery messageto wake up the serving wireless device from an idle mode. Allowing theserving wireless device to remain idle until the requesting wirelessdevice is ready can reduce the battery drain on the serving wirelessdevice. The operator network can pair the wireless device requesting thedata service with the wireless device that can provide the requesteddata service. The operator network can schedule a common devicediscovery period for the serving wireless device and the requestingwireless device to communicate on the D2D link. The device discoverymessage may include an indication of a channel or a sub-channel fordevice discovery on the D2D link, when multiple channels or sub-channelsare used for device discovery. Although, the operator network may notcontrol the serving wireless device and the requesting wireless device,the operator network can propose or suggest a device discovery periodfor the pair of wireless devices to communicate on the D2D link.

In another example, the device discovery message can provide informationabout the requested data services and/or subscriber(s) in a reducedmessage or coded message to reduce the size of the message transmitted.The reduced message or coded message may be mapped to an identifier ofthe data services and/or subscriber(s) in the transmission station, therequesting wireless device, and/or the serving wireless device. Therequest for data service and/or subscriber(s) message, the devicediscovery message, the advertisement, and/or the acknowledgement caninclude a control message with control signaling. For example, a firsttime a data service identifier is used the message may include a fullidentifier. In subsequent messages, a control message (with a reducedsize relative to the full identifier) may be used. The operator networkmay setup rules about the data services and/or locations tracked by theoperator network in the data repository (e.g., the database or cloudapplication). The data services and/or locations may track with theserving wireless device and be updated in the subscriber's home and/orlocal agent. As a user moves, the data service provided by and/orlocation of the serving wireless device may be updated by home and/orlocal agents at a different transmission station. The data service maybe available to other subscribers (e.g., the requesting wireless device)in the vicinity without the different base station querying the servingwireless device when the serving wireless device moves within thedifferent base station's transmission range.

Another example provides a method 500 for operator-assisteddevice-to-device discovery, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 4. Themethod may be executed as instructions on a machine, where theinstructions are included on at least one computer readable medium. Themethod includes the operation of receiving a request for data service ata transmission station in an operator network from a requesting wirelessdevice, as in block 510. The operation of identifying a serving wirelessdevice at the operator network to provide the requested data service forthe requesting wireless device follows, as in block 520. The nextoperation of the method can be transmitting a device discovery messageby the transmission station to the requesting wireless device and theserving wireless device, wherein the device discovery message provides adevice discovery period for communication via an ad-hoc, D2D networkbetween the requesting wireless device and the serving wireless device,wherein the ad-hoc, D2D network provides for device-to-devicecommunication, as in block 530.

In an example, the ad-hoc, D2D network provides for non-authenticateduser communication unless authentication is manually entered by users.The request for data service can further include an identification ofthe data service or data content requested requested, a subscriberrequested, desired quality of service (QoS) of the data service, alocation of the requesting wireless device, a transmission power levelof the requesting wireless device, a traffic loading of the requestingwireless device, an allowable transmission rate of the requestingwireless device, and combinations of this requested information. In anexample, the device discovery period can be less than five seconds. Thead-hoc, D2D network can include a licensed band network, a unlicensedband network, a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), andcombinations of these networks. The request for data service can beconfigured to be received via a unicast message, and the devicediscovery message can be configured to be transmitted via a broadcast,multicast, or unicast message. The device discovery message canrecommend the serving wireless device to advertise during the devicediscovery period, and the device discovery message can recommend therequesting wireless device to listen for an advertisement during thedevice discovery period. In another example, the device discoverymessage can recommend the requesting wireless device to request the dataservice during the device discovery period, and the device discoverymessage can recommend the serving wireless device to listen for therequest during the device discovery period. In another example, thedevice discovery message can recommend the requesting wireless device torequest the data service during the device discovery period and tolisten when requesting wireless device is not transmitting, and thedevice discovery message can recommend the serving wireless device toadvertise during the device discovery period and to listen when theserving wireless device is not transmitting.

The method can further include the transmission station authenticatingthe requesting wireless device and the serving wireless device via theoperator network's authentication protocol before transmitting thedevice discovery message. The operation of identifying potential servingwireless devices can further include searching a data repository todetermine if the requested subscriber, or if none were requested, anysubscribers have the data service requested by the requesting wirelessdevice. If the data repository contains data service access permissions,the operation of identifying potential serving wireless devices canfurther include checking that the requested subscriber with the dataservice has permission to provide the data service to the requestingwireless device. If the data repository contains subscriber locationinformation, the operation of identifying potential serving wirelessdevices can further include checking that the location of the requestedsubscriber with the requested data service and, if the location of therequested subscriber exists, permission to share the data service withthe requesting wireless device) are in proximity of the requestingwireless device. If location information does not exist in the datarepository, the operator network may check the real-time locations ofthe (requested) subscribers with the requested data service (and sharingpermission) to determine whether they are in proximity of the requestingwireless device. The operation of identifying potential serving wirelessdevices can further include selecting at least one potential servingwireless device from the list of subscribers in proximity of therequesting wireless device that have the requested data service andpermission to provide the data service to the requesting wirelessdevice. If no subscribers which have the requested data service (orpermission to share the requested data service with the requestingwireless device) are in proximity of the requesting wireless device, theoperator network may inform the requesting wireless device that nopotential serving wireless devices exist. The operation of transmittingthe device discovery message can further include transmitting the devicediscovery message via a multicast message or unicast message to therequesting wireless device and at least one potential serving wirelessdevice. The requesting wireless device and serving wireless device caninclude a user equipment (UE) or a mobile station (MS). The requestingwireless device and serving wireless device can be configured to connectto any combination of a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wirelesspersonal area network (WPAN), and a wireless wide area network (WWAN).The first wireless device can include an antenna, a touch sensitivedisplay screen, a speaker, a microphone, a graphics processor, anapplication processor, internal memory, a non-volatile memory port, orcombinations these components. The transmission station can include anevolved Node B (eNodeB), a base station (BS), a macro evolved Node B(macro-eNB), a low power node (LPN), a micro-eNB, a pico-eNB, afemto-eNB, a home eNB (HeNB), a base band unit (BBU), a remote radiohead (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a remote radio unit (RRU),or a wireless access point (WAP).

Another example provides a method 600 for operator-assisteddevice-to-device discovery, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 5. Themethod may be executed as instructions on a machine, where theinstructions are included on at least one computer readable medium. Themethod includes the operation of receiving a device discovery message ata wireless device from a transmission station in an operator network,wherein the device discovery message provides a device discovery periodfor communication via an ad-hoc, D2D network between a requestingwireless device and a serving wireless device, wherein the ad-hoc, D2Dnetwork provides device-to-device communication, as in block 610. Theoperation of communicating with a neighboring wireless device during thedevice discovery period via the ad-hoc, D2D network follows, as in block620.

In an example, the ad-hoc, D2D network does not provide userauthentication for the communication. The wireless device can beconfigured as the requesting wireless device and the neighboringwireless device can be configured the serving wireless device. Themethod can further include the requesting wireless device sending arequest for data service to the transmission station. The operation ofcommunicating with the neighboring wireless device can further includerequesting the data service from the serving wireless device via thead-hoc, D2D network during the device discovery period.

In another example, the wireless device can be configured as the servingwireless device and the neighboring wireless device can be configured asthe requesting wireless device. The method can further include theserving wireless device waking up from an idle state or a sleep state toan active state when the device discovery message is received. Theoperation of communicating with the neighboring wireless device canfurther include advertising the data service to the requesting wirelessdevice via the ad-hoc, D2D network during the device discovery period.

The request for data service can further include an identification ofthe data service and/or subscriber(s) requested, desired quality ofservice (QoS) of the data service, a location of the requesting wirelessdevice, a transmission power level of the requesting wireless device, atraffic loading of the requesting wireless device, an allowabletransmission rate of the requesting wireless device, and combinations ofthis requested information. In an example, the device discovery periodcan be less than five seconds. The ad-hoc, D2D network can include alicensed band network, a unlicensed band network, a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wirelesspersonal area network (WPAN), and combinations of these networks. Therequest for data service can be configured to be transmitted via aunicast message, and the device discovery message can be configured tobe received via broadcast, multicast, or unicast messages.

The requesting wireless device can be configured to send the request fordata service to the transmission station and the serving wireless devicecan be configured to receive the device discovery message from thetransmission station via a wide area network (WAN) authenticationprotocol. The requesting wireless device and serving wireless device caninclude a user equipment (UE) or a mobile station (MS). The requestingwireless device and serving wireless device can be configured to connectto any combination of a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wirelesspersonal area network (WPAN), and a wireless wide area network (WWAN).The first wireless device can include an antenna, a touch sensitivedisplay screen, a speaker, a microphone, a graphics processor, anapplication processor, internal memory, a non-volatile memory port, orcombinations these components. The transmission station can include anevolved Node B (eNodeB), a base station (BS), a macro evolved Node B(macro-eNB), a low power node (LPN), a micro-eNB, a pico-eNB, afemto-eNB, a home eNB (HeNB), a base band unit (BBU), a remote radiohead (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a remote radio unit (RRU),or a wireless access point (WAP).

In another example, a transmission station can be in wirelesscommunication with the wireless device (e.g., the requesting wirelessdevice and/or the serving wireless device). The transmission station canbe included within a centralized, cooperative, or cloud radio accessnetwork (C-RAN). In the C-RAN, the transmission station (or eNodeB)functionality can be subdivided between a base band unit (BBU)processing pool and a remote radio unit (RRU) or a remote radio head(RRH) with optical fiber connecting the BBU to the RRU.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example transmission station 210, requestingwireless device 220, and serving wireless device 230. The transmissionstation can include an operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D)discovery device 710, and each wireless device can include anoperator-assisted D2D discovery device 720 and 730. Theoperator-assisted D2D discovery device configured for the transmissionstation can include a transceiver module 712 and an identificationmodule 714. The transceiver module can be configured to receive arequest for data service and/or subscriber(s) in an operator networkfrom the requesting wireless device. The identification module can beconfigured to identify a serving wireless device to provide the dataservice for the requesting wireless device. The transceiver module canbe further configured to transmit a device discovery message to therequesting wireless device and the serving wireless device. The devicediscovery message can provide a device discovery period forcommunication via an ad-hoc, D2D network between the requesting wirelessdevice and the serving wireless device. The ad-hoc, D2D network providesfor device-to-device communication.

In an example, the identification module 714 includes a data repository716 configured to store the data services available for sharing, thesharing permissions, and/or the locations of subscribers of the operatornetwork. The identification module can be configured to select at leastone serving wireless device 230 from the listed subscribers. Theidentification module can be configured to return a “no potentialserving wireless device available” message when no subscribers inproximity of the requesting wireless device has the requested dataservice and/or permission to share the data service with the requestingwireless device. In another example, the identification module can becoupled to the data repository. The data repository can include adatabase, a cloud application, or combination of the database and cloudapplication. In an example, the ad-hoc, D2D network can provide fornon-authenticated user communication.

In another example, the operator-assisted D2D discovery device 710configured for the transmission station 210 can further include anauthentication module 718. The authentication module can be configuredto authenticate the requesting wireless device 220 and the servingwireless device 230 via an operator network authentication protocol.

The operator-assisted D2D discovery device 720 and 730 configured forthe wireless devices 720 and 730 can include an operator networktransceiver module 722 and 732 and a D2D transceiver module 724 and 734.The operator network transceiver module can be configured to receive adevice discovery message from a transmission station in an operatornetwork. The device discovery message can provide a device discoveryperiod for communication via an ad-hoc, D2D network between a requestingwireless device and a serving wireless device. The ad-hoc, D2D networkcan provide device-to-device communication. The D2D transceiver modulecan be configured to communicate with a neighboring wireless deviceduring the device discovery period via the ad-hoc, D2D network.

In an example, the ad-hoc, D2D network does not provide userauthentication for the communication. The operator network transceivermodule 722 and 732 can be further configured to send a request for dataservices and/or subscribers to a transmission station 210. The D2Dtransceiver module 724 and 734 can be further configured to request thedata service from a neighboring wireless device via the ad-hoc, D2Dnetwork. The D2D transceiver module can be further configured toadvertise the data service to a neighboring wireless device via thead-hoc, D2D network. The wireless device 220 and 230 can further includea wake up module (not shown) configured to wake up a wireless devicefrom an idle state or a sleep state to an active state when the devicediscovery message is received. The data service can be configured totransfer data content including a multimedia stream, a video stream, anaudio stream, a graphics file, an audio file, a text file, an executablefile, a multimedia file, and combinations of this data content. The dataservice can be configured to transfer instructions and/or informationfor services, such as gaming or social networking. The operator networktransceiver module can use a wireless WAN (WWAN) protocol 212 and 214selected from the group consisting of a third generation partnershipproject (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) standard and an Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard. In anotherexample, the operator network transceiver module can use a wireless LAN(WLAN) protocol 212 and 214 selected from the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. The D2D transceivermodule can use a D2D protocol 222 including a 3GPP LTE standard, an IEEE802.16 standard, an IEEE 802.11 standard, an IEEE 802.15 standard, aBluetooth standard, a Wireless Display Port standard, a WiGig standard,an Ultra-WideBand (UWB) standard, a Wireless HD standard, a WirelessHome Digital Interface (WHDI) standard, a ZigBee standard, a proprietaryunlicensed standard, a proprietary licensed standard, or combinations ofthese protocols.

FIG. 7 provides an example illustration of the wireless device, such asa user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile wireless device,a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handset, or other type ofmobile wireless device. The mobile device can include one or moreantennas configured to communicate with the transmission station, suchas a base station (BS), an evolved Node B (eNB), a base band unit (BBU),a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a relaystation (RS), a radio equipment (RE), other types of wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN) access points, or a wireless local area network (WLAN)access point (WAP). The mobile device can be configured to communicateusing at least one wireless communication standard including 3GPP LTE,WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and WiFi. The mobiledevice can communicate using separate antennas for each wirelesscommunication standard or shared antennas for multiple wirelesscommunication standards. The mobile device can communicate in a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN),and/or a WWAN.

FIG. 7 also provides an illustration of a microphone and one or morespeakers that can be used for audio input and output from the mobiledevice. The display screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen,or other type of display screen such as an organic light emitting diode(OLED) display. The display screen can be configured as a touch screen.The touch screen may use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touchscreen technology. An application processor and a graphics processor canbe coupled to internal memory to provide processing and displaycapabilities. A non-volatile memory port can also be used to providedata input/output options to a user. The non-volatile memory port mayalso be used to expand the memory capabilities of the mobile device. Akeyboard may be integrated with the mobile device or wirelesslyconnected to the mobile device to provide additional user input. Avirtual keyboard may also be provided using the touch screen.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage mediumwherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine,such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing thevarious techniques. In the case of program code execution onprogrammable computers, the computing device may include a processor, astorage medium readable by the processor (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device,and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memoryand/or storage elements may be a RAM, EPROM, flash drive, optical drive,magnetic hard drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. Thebase station and mobile station may also include a transceiver module, acounter module, a processing module, and/or a clock module or timermodule. One or more programs that may implement or utilize the varioustechniques described herein may use an application programming interface(API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implementedin a high level procedural or object oriented programming language tocommunicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may beimplemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case,the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combinedwith hardware implementations.

It should be understood that many of the functional units described inthis specification have been labeled as modules, in order to moreparticularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, amodule may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSIcircuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logicchips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also beimplemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or thelike.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by varioustypes of processors. An identified module of executable code may, forinstance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computerinstructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object,procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identifiedmodule need not be physically located together, but may comprisedisparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joinedlogically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purposefor the module.

Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may even be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across several memory devices.Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated hereinwithin modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organizedwithin any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may becollected as a single data set, or may be distributed over differentlocations including over different storage devices, and may exist, atleast partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.The modules may be passive or active, including agents operable toperform desired functions.

Reference throughout this specification to “an example” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the example is included in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in an example” in variousplaces throughout this specification are not necessarily all referringto the same embodiment.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositionalelements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list forconvenience. However, these lists should be construed as though eachmember of the list is individually identified as a separate and uniquemember. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as ade facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based ontheir presentation in a common group without indications to thecontrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the presentinvention may be referred to herein along with alternatives for thevarious components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments,examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as defactoequivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate andautonomous representations of the present invention.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided, such asexamples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide athorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled inthe relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details, or with othermethods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of thepresent invention in one or more particular applications, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerousmodifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be madewithout the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing fromthe principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, it is notintended that the invention be limited, except as by the claims setforth below.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. An apparatus of a first user equipment (UE) operable to perform wireless wide area network (WWAN) operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communications with a second UE, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: process, at the first UE, D2D discovery and wireless local area network (WLAN) configuration information received from a WWAN when the first UE and the second UE are within a WLAN direct communications range; and initiate, at the first UE, operator-assisted WLAN direct communications with the second UE within the WLAN direct communications range using the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information received from the WWAN, wherein a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE provides a desired quality of service (QoS) to support an end user application; and memory configured to store the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising a transceiver configured to receive the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information from the WWAN.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information enables security on a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE.
 24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the first UE includes an antenna, a touch sensitive display screen, a speaker, a microphone, a graphics processor, an application processor, an internal memory, a non-volatile memory port, or combinations thereof.
 25. An apparatus of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) operable to assist a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communications, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: determine, at the E-UTRAN, when the first UE and the second UE are within a wireless local area network (WLAN) direct communications range; identify, at the E-UTRAN, D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information; process, at the E-UTRAN, the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information for transmission to the first UE to enable the first UE to perform operator-assisted D2D communications with the second UE when the first UE and the second UE are within the WLAN direct communications range; and determine whether a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE provides a desired quality of service (QoS) to support an end user application; and memory configured to store the discovery and WLAN configuration information.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising a transceiver configured to transmit the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information to the first UE.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information enables security on a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE.
 28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications include a device discovery message.
 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications occurs on an unlicensed band.
 30. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for performing operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communications between a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE, the instructions when executed by one or more processors cause the first UE to perform the following: processing, at the first UE, D2D discovery and wireless local area network (WLAN) configuration information received from an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN); and initiating, at the first UE, operator-assisted WLAN direct communications with the second UE using the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information received from the E-UTRAN, and when the first UE and the second UE are within a WLAN direct communications range, wherein a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE provides a desired quality of service (QoS) to support an end user application.
 31. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 30, further comprising instructions which when executed by the one or more processors cause the first UE to perform the following: storing the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information in a memory of the first UE.
 32. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information enables security on a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE.
 33. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications include a device discovery message.
 34. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications occurs on an unlicensed band.
 35. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the first UE includes an antenna, a touch sensitive display screen, a speaker, a microphone, a graphics processor, an application processor, an internal memory, a non-volatile memory port, or combinations thereof.
 36. At least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for assisting a first user equipment (UE) and a second UE in operator-assisted device-to-device (D2D) communications, the instructions when executed by one or more processors cause an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) to perform the following: determining, at the E-UTRAN, when the first UE and the second UE are within a wireless local area network (WLAN) direct communications range; generating, at the E-UTRAN, D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information; processing, at the E-UTRAN, the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information for transmission from the E-UTRAN to the first UE to enable the first UE to perform operator-assisted D2D communications with the second UE when the first UE and the second UE are within the WLAN direct communications range; and determining when the first UE and the second UE are within a WLAN direct communications range in response to receiving a request from an application executing on the first UE.
 37. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 36, further comprising instructions which when executed by the one or more processors cause the E-UTRAN to perform the following: storing the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information in a memory at the E-UTRAN.
 38. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the D2D discovery and WLAN configuration information enables security on a D2D-assisted WLAN direct communications link between the first UE and the second UE.
 39. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications include a device discovery message.
 40. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the operator-assisted WLAN direct communications occurs on an unlicensed band. 